A lot of prep work goes into getting ready for the Youth Rodeo. Hort, along with the other competitors, said practice makes perfect.

"We practice all the time. Almost every night we can," said Clayton Houston, a two-time competitor from Decatur, Texas. "It's a lot to take care of a horse. It's a lot at the rodeo to make sure he's OK, and nothing happens to him and to make sure he's fed on time."

The Youth Rodeo began in 2014, attracting hundreds of competitors 18 years and younger from all over the state.

"It's all kids, Texas 4H and FFA youth, and we've got over 400 kids filling the barn with more than 800 horses," said Katie Reynolds, the horse show director for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.

"Just that we have the opportunity to come here, and compete against all these kids, and to be able to come around Texas and do what we like to do," Houston said.

Many of the young cowboys and cowgirls rode away a winner. The three-day Youth Rodeo awarded $70,000 in scholarships.